Your employer brand is the sum of impressions people have about your company as an employer. Every company has one — whether they manage it or not. This tool helps you understand, shape, and amplify yours deliberately.
The main thing to keep in mind: be authentic and honest. Don't make claims about your company that aren't true or that fail to provide the full picture. Doing so damages your employer brand in the long run and causes hiring AND retention problems. Your value proposition will be the backbone of all employer branding efforts.
Step 2 of 7
Brand audit
Rate your employer brand across five pillars. Score honestly — gaps are where the strategy lives. Research shows only 50% of companies have a proactive brand strategy.
Compensation & benefits
How competitive and how well communicated is your total rewards package?
Salary competitiveness vs market5
Benefits, perks & total rewards5
How well you communicate compensation externally5
Culture & work environment
83% of Canadians would accept a lower salary for a better working experience. Does your culture deliver?
Flexibility & work-life balance5
Diversity, inclusion & psychological safety5
Culture visibility in external communications5
Career development
The top driver for Canadian job seekers. Growth, promotion, mentorship, training — how do you deliver?
Learning & development programs5
Internal mobility & promotion pathways5
Mentorship & coaching access5
Candidate experience
60% of the candidate journey happens before your team makes contact. 60% of job seekers have quit an application due to complexity.
Career site quality, content & storytelling5
Job description quality, tone & brand voice5
Interview process experience & feedback5
Glassdoor / employer review site presence5
Employee advocacy & social presence
Employee posts generate 8× more engagement than brand handles. 76% of job seekers want to hear directly from employees.
Employee advocacy & ambassador program5
LinkedIn company page engagement5
Culture content (spotlights, video, stories)5
Step 3 of 7
Audit results
Here's where your employer brand stands today. Organizations that prioritize EB are 250% more likely to rate their talent acquisition as highly effective.
–
Overall
Brand health score
Strengths & gaps
Top strengths
Priority gaps
The research case for acting now
9/10
Candidates say a career site is their top source for researching an employer — yet most career sites fail to answer the questions candidates actually have (CareerBuilder Candidate Experience Study)
$7M
In additional wages a company with 10,000+ employees may need to pay to compensate for a negative employer reputation — strong brands attract talent willing to accept lower salary premiums (Harvard Business Review)
250%
More likely to rate talent acquisition as highly effective — organizations that prioritize employer brand (Brandon Hall Group)
62%
Of Glassdoor users improve their perception of a company after seeing an employer respond to a review
98%
Of candidates who engaged with authentic employee stories improved their impression of the company (PathMotion / Citi / Immersion Neuroscience)
8×
More engagement generated by employee posts vs the same content shared through a brand handle (Cisco)
83%
Of Canadians would accept a lower salary for a better working experience (Monster Canada)
Step 4 of 7
EVP builder
Your Employer Value Proposition is the unique set of benefits employees receive in exchange for their skills and experience. Emphasize purpose over perks. Fill in what you can — the AI will synthesize and write it.
Data persuades, but stories convert. A neuroscience study with Citi and Immersion Neuroscience proved that employee stories are up to 20% more immersive than career sites — and drive 95% application intent.
The science of storytelling
65–70%
Retention rate when facts are wrapped in a story, vs 5–10% for statistics alone (Stanford)
20%
More immersive than a career site — employee stories on a discussion platform or live chat (PathMotion / Immersion Neuroscience / Citi)
80%
Of candidate research comes from third-party sources — a content gap on your site drives candidates elsewhere
8×
More engagement when employees share content vs the brand handle sharing the same content (Cisco)
The 5 characteristics of a persuasive employee story
Based on analysis of 100,000+ stories by PathMotion and Wharton Business School. Every story you publish should have these elements.
1. A narrative arc — there should be a clear beginning, middle and end. "When I joined… I discovered… which led to…"
2. Authenticity — it should feel real, like it comes from lived experience. Not polished PR. Real names, real moments, real emotion.
3. Specific detail — vague is not persuasive. "I work 9:30 to 6:30 and rarely beyond that" beats "we have great work-life balance."
4. Meaningful challenges — don't just paint a rosy picture. Include real obstacles that were overcome. Candidates trust complexity.
5. Practical tips — if answering a candidate question, give actual, actionable advice. "Here's what I wish I'd known before joining…"
Employee spotlight template
Modeled on best-in-class examples: Hootsuite's wellness storytelling, Hoppin' #MeetTheTeamMonday. Post monthly on LinkedIn — rotate across departments, tag the employee, use a consistent hashtag.
#MeetTheTeam — content template
What does your role actually involve?Employee's own words — specific, not a job description
Why [Company]?What keeps them here — honest, not PR
Proudest moment or biggest challenge overcome?A specific story with detail and arc
One fun fact.Human detail — builds connection before application
Content best produced by employees (not HR/company): firm values, why people work here, testimonials, why people stay, diversity & culture (Edelman research)
Employee advocacy program — 4-phase launch
1,000 active employee advocates can generate ~$1.9M in advertising value. Candidates are 40% more likely to apply when familiar with the brand. Here's how to build the program.
1
Find your champions
Identify employees already active on LinkedIn or social media. Look for those with strong personal brands, large networks, or who naturally speak about their work. They become your informal committee — not HR, not leadership alone.
2
Run a pilot (5–10 people)
Select advocates from across the org — not just marketing. Work with each one to identify their natural format: video, writing, speaking, design. Measure: participation rate, engagement, referrals, website traffic from social.
3
Company-wide launch
Share pilot successes before asking for broad participation. Brand the program internally. Make it voluntary — authenticity can't be mandated. Not every employee is a fit; that's fine. Provide a social media policy and pre-approved assets.
4
Embed into onboarding & ongoing training
Make social media training part of new hire onboarding. Create a stream of shareable internal content. Internal marketing and employee advocacy are two sides of the same coin — you can't have one without the other.
4 prerequisites before launching: good employee engagement, transparent culture built on trust, a strong internal comms cadence, and someone to own the program.
Glassdoor management guide
Academic research (238 subjects, University of Las Palmas) proved: positive reviews → more likely to apply, more positive perception, willingness to accept lower salary. Employee word-of-mouth beats industry awards as a credibility signal.
Add company description and mission, CEO name and title, updated logo, culture photos, benefits summary, and number of employees. 94% of job seekers check employer profiles before applying — an incomplete profile signals neglect.
Respond to every review — positive and negative — within 2 weeks. 62% of Glassdoor users improve their perception of a company after seeing an employer respond to a review. For negative reviews: acknowledge, don't deflect, show action taken.
Negative reviews are free HR diagnostics. If multiple reviewers mention the same issue, that is a signal to act internally — not just to respond publicly. Positive reviews can be shared internally to reinforce employee pride and sense of belonging.
Add video testimonials, employee Q&As, and culture photos. Candidates spend 13% more time on "people" content than any other part of a careers site. Stories that include narrative arc, authenticity, and specific detail are significantly more persuasive than polished corporate copy.
Step 6 of 7
Content playbook
Employer branding only works when it's consistently expressed. Here are the formats, cadences, channels, and KPIs that compound over time.
Monthly content cadence
25% of job postings are discovered via social. Consistency matters more than volume. Candidates visit your channels an average of 12 times before making a decision.
7-step employer branding strategy process
The ERE framework — the strategic backbone behind everything in this tool.
Channel strategy
Different audiences live in different places. Prioritize by industry and talent profile.
Careers page checklist
9 out of 10 candidates say the career site is their top source for researching an employer. The goal of your careers section is to attract the right people and deter the wrong ones — not just list values, but show how your company puts them into action.
One content rule above all others: focus on your people. Everything else is secondary. Monitor performance with web analytics — track time-on-page and source of traffic.
Candidate experience checklist
A positive candidate experience starts when someone becomes interested in working for you and ends when they start — or fall out of contention. Every touchpoint shapes their impression and their Glassdoor review. A negative employer reputation can cost a 10,000-person company up to $7M in additional wages just to attract talent willing to overlook it.
Awards, PR & credibility builders
Winning a Best Employers award gives independent credibility to your EVP. Being proactive goes a long way — organizations that run these lists often include companies that apply. No downside to trying.
KPIs to track
From the recruitment marketing dashboard framework — metrics that prove your employer brand is working.
Track MoM and YoY. Establish baselines first. The Excel recruitment marketing dashboard provides full tracking infrastructure for all these metrics.
Step 7 of 7
Employer brand report
Complete diagnostic, EVP, and 90-day activation roadmap.